Different paths
by Nobel Born To Chaos
Summary: A what if story taking place during the time where Katherine stole Kimberly's power coin.Tommy and Kim's relationship and the struggles they face. TommyXKim, evil Katherine
1. Introduction

**Summary:** This starts during the series, season 3 when Kimberly's power coin is stolen by Kat and she begins to lose her powers. I decided to start re-writing the series from this point on and put my own personal spin on it. Beware I hate Katherine and I hate how they made her all goody-goody after all the shit she started between Kim and Tommy. Please read and review!

**An: Saban owns it all, if I owned it, this would not be a fanfiction.**

**Introduction.**

The day had such promise. The group had gathered at the lake for an afternoon of good natured fun, but like anything when it came to being a ranger, that bastard Zed had to mess it up and send his little minions to disturb an otherwise peaceful time. Luckily there was no major fight to be had and the rangers quickly defeated the tangas. Shouting in triumph Tommy high fived Adam and de-morphed. "Way to go guys!" he said with his usual fist pump at the end of their battles shown proud.

Though the joyous feeling did not last long as the group came together around Kimberly, who seemed more than a little winded from the battle. Tommy laid a hand on her shoulder, concern shining in his brown eyes as he watched her carefully. "I'm alright, just a little tired I guess..." she whispered softly, holding her head and leaning against him for support.

"We should get her out of the sun." Aisha suggested as she was beginning to worry about her petite friend. Kimberly wasn't one to be so sensitive to the sun or to a simple fight with the tangas.

Tommy helped Kim back to the benches and watched as she searched through her bag for a towel...instead she began to frantically search for something. "Kimberly..what's going on?" he didn't understand her sudden panic.

"My...my power coin. It's not in here!" she said in worry, but then groaned as a dizzy spell began to set in.

Her power coin was missing, where the hell could it have gone? Rummaging through her bag she felt the dizziness sweep over her and her body began to sway in nausea. She felt so incredibly weak, sick to her stomach and her vision began to blur. Leaning over the picnic table she whimpered as her knees gave out and she tumbled to the grass. "Tommy..." she whined, holding her head as her breathing became shallow. "My power coin...I can't find it...something's wrong." She felt so weak, every muscle ached and throbbed like never before. "Tommy what's happening?"

The white ranger held her close, kneeling next to her and keeping her body close to his own as she shook in fear and weakness. "I'm not sure...but something tells me we better get you help." He picked her up bridal style and looked to the other rangers as they warped to the command center.

Soon after arriving the effects of her lost power coin came into full swing. Kimberly was lying, panting in the command center, a cold sweat covering her petite form as the rangers stood around her helpless to their companion. Alpha had her scanned and was running tests as she moaned in pain. She soon slipped completely unconscious of the bed they had set up for her and was covered with a few blankets to keep her warm as she shook in her restless slumber.

Their leader looked the most distressed, clenching his fists tightly until his knuckles went white, grinding his teeth as he tried to keep hold of whatever composure he had left. Someone had taken Kim's power coin and now she was in serious trouble, yet all Tommy could do was stare down at her weakened state and do nothing! He held her hand for a long while, whispering to her and kissing her knuckles while running his hand through her hair and moving it out of her face. "Come on beautiful, you got to keep with me ok? Stay with us, all of us.." he let her hand go and tucked her in, kissing her forehead one last time before walking back to the other. Running his hands through his hair he groaned loudly and turned to face Zordon with a scowl on his features. "There has to be something we can do! I can't let this happen to her. We can't lose Kimberly..." he sighed and looked back to her over his shoulder, "I can't lose her..." it was then that he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Rocky staring back at him.

"**Someone had stolen her power coin, and placed into the hands of evil. Until we can discover the location of her power coin, Kimberly will remain in a weakened state. There is not much we can do for now."** Zordon explained, his own sadness coming through in his words.

"We'll figure something else out. Right now we have to get back.."  
>"I can't leave her here alone!"his gaze was intense as he stared down the rest of the team with fire in his eyes, but at the same time all could see the tears threatening to fall.<br>"Tommy, what use are we here? Kim's safe with Alpha and Zordon here in the command center." Aisha explained, trying to reason with their emotional leader best she could.

Taking one last look at his injured girlfriend Tommy knew he couldn't stand here and mull over her pain. To help her, he needed to go back to school and wait for updates on her condition. He'd get no where just staring at her, even if it made him feel a little better being at her side. "You're right. Zordon, please alert me of any change in her state. If she wakes up even for a moment." With the agreement set they warped back to Angel grove high and Tommy tried his best to stay in control.

The day could not have gone any slower, his mind constantly drifting to what could have happened to her power coin. He knew Rita and Zed had something to do with it, who else would be after her? Anymore it seemed like Zed was constantly out to get him and when he'd learned of Tommy's affections for Kimberly, she became his primary target. Plus that psycho space lord had a thing for Kimberly, trying once to make her his queen when Rita was in absence. The thought of Kim in that arms of that creature made his blood boil. _'That fucker is gonna pay for ever causing Kimberly harm...I swear to god if I could only find him and take care of him once and for all.'_ He thought, nearly snapping his pencil in the middle of his English class.

"Ai-yai-yai! Zordon what will we do?" he asked in a panic as he walked over to Kimberly, who was currently sweating but completely unconscious on the bed they now set up. She was curled on her side and clutching the pillows as one name was continuously whimpered.

"Tommy.." her brow furrowed and she shivered once again.

**"Only time can tell Alpha, we must keep an eye on her vital signs."**

By the end of the day Tommy had resorted to taking anger out on the punching bag rather that find Zed and pummel him like he wanted. Kimberly was dying, slipping away and in so much pain. He knew the feeling of losing your powers but at the same time Kim had been with hers longer, her body becoming more dependent and used to the powers that without them...she was fading and doing so quickly. Gritting his teeth he flung a round house kick to the bag and stepped back, gripping his head and walking around trying to cool off. Adam and Rocky watched from the juice bar as Tommy looked like he was going to rip the bag clean open with each punch. "He's really upset about Kim."

"Man, how can you not be upset? His girlfriend is dying and we have no idea how to make it stop." Adam replied as he leaned on the table and sipped his smoothie.

"Someone had to have taken it during the fight...Alpha and Zordon view all our fights, maybe they can see who fled during it and we can find who took it!" Rocky shouted, then quickly went quiet as he realized they were in no sense anywhere private.

"We got to tell Tommy, you go get Aisha, meet me outside." The two broke apart and went in search of their friends.

Tommy took one more swing at the bag before he heard that annoying sing song voice calling for him. "Tommy?" he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Katherine staring at him. Her blonde hair was pulled into two matching pigtails and she wore a baby pink t-shirt with a fitted mini-skirt. In all honesty, Kim would have looked much cuter in the outfit. "I'm going for lunch and I'd hate to go alone. Would you mind coming with me?"

"Sorry Kat, but I've got a lot of on my mind." He said, not wanting anything to do with the idea of going to lunch with her. But being Tommy, he had to be nice about, "Just stressed, but I'm sure Aisha would come with you. She's up at the juice bar if you'd like to go see her." He gave her his charming smile, mustering one up best he could before looking around the gym and heading for the locker room. He was stopped by Rocky who seemed excited about something.

"Tommy, I've got an idea." Rocky grabbed his arm as they ducked into the change room. Once they were far enough away from other and in the safety of the empty locker room Rocky explained how maybe there was footage of who took Kim's coin. "Zordon films the fights for you right?"

"Yeah, I asked him to so we could find our weak points. Why?"

"Any chance he taped out last one?"

"I wouldn't see why he wouldn't have..." Tommy raised an eyebrow in wonder.

Rocky explained his ingenious planed and watched the look of shock come over the white rangers face. Tommy hadn't even thought of that before, he was too busy thinking about to kill Zed..."Rocky, I know you don't hear this often but...you are a freaking genius!" he gave his friend and teammate a high five before going to change quickly. They fled the youth center in a hurry to meet up with the rest of the group and they warped to the command center with high hopes.

Meanwhile at the juice bar Katherine watched him leave, a less than amused expression coating her. _'She's not even here. I'm standing right before him in her clothes I stole from her locker and he still doesn't notice a damn thing...soon enough that bitch will be dead Tommy and you and I will be together.'_ Her eyes flickered red before she turned on her heel and vanished. She had to get rid of Kim if she ever hoped to be with Tommy. Truth was, Rita's spells rarely worked completely and the spell had worn off of her quite some time ago. She was now completely in control of her own choices and she chose to use her advantages and win over Tommy. Once he was hers, she could easily play the card that she had been under a spell and no one would know the difference. Smiling to herself she left the center and reported back to Rita.

Tommy and the other arrived in the command center and immediately asked if they had any footage. Soon enough they were all huddled around the viewing globe, only to discover a truth none wanted to face. A certain blonde was searching through Kimberly's bag, a certain blonde young woman was reaching in and stealing the power coin with a wicked smile on her face. Tommy made a fist and glared at the screen. "Katherine..."

**tbc**


	2. Chapter One: Taken by darkness

**Disclaimer: i do not own anything...stop making me remind myself of the sad truth...**

**An: hey there, this is the first chapter. Check out my profile and you'll find a link to my youtube channel which features all my tommy and Kimberly videos. Please let me know what you think of this chapter in the reviews and comment on youtube if you like the videos! Thanks 3**

**Chapter One**

His hands were shaking as he stared into the viewing globe with fire in his eyes. Katherine was there in front of him taking Kimberly's coin and running off with it, and judging by the information Zordon had told them, gone to hand it over to Rita and Zed. Scowling at the screen he then spun on his heel and looked to the other rangers who backed away in slight fear of their leader. "Tommy, you need to calm down..." Adam warned.

"Calm down! Fuck that!" he took one more look at Kim, "She's dying because of that fucking bitch. I'll rip her in half!"

"Tommy what will that do! We can't get to Zed's dimension, we have to wait and stall this as much as possible." Aisha said, trying to reason once more with the hot headed young man. He wasn't usually like this but his emotional hold on Kimberly was interfering with his usual logic.

"So what exactly are we going to do? We can't just walk over and be like 'Oh hey there Katherine, wanna hand me back my girlfriend's power coin so she won't die' that would just be stupid!" Tommy shouted as he paced around the command center.

Tommy sighed deeply, taking in a few deep breaths as he saw Kimberly stirring from the noises. Running to her side he took her hand in his and waited patiently, whispering her name to her softly. "Come on babes, open your eyes." His voice strong and stern wanting her to feel comforted, not panicked when she woke up to see him upset.

Slowly but surely those beautiful eyes fluttered and she was looking up at him with a groggy expression. "T-T-Tommy?" she stuttering as the pain was still effecting her quite heavily.

"Hush beautiful, I'm right here." He kissed over her knuckles and down her wrist as the other rangers gathered behind him.

"What's happening?" she asked with a small yawn until her mind gathered and she remembered what had happened before she passed out at the lake. "My coin..."

"We think Zed has it." Rocky replied as he sat on the end of the bed while Tommy helped her to sit up enough to see everyone.

Tommy sat with her and let her lean on his chest as they all looked to Zordon. **"I am glad to see you have awaken Kimberly. You are in grave danger. It appears your power coin was taken to Lord Zedd. As long as the power coin lays in the hands of evil, the ranger it is linked to will suffer and slowly be drained of their power."**

Kimberly nodded in understanding. "What are we gonna do? There's no way we can get to Zed's dimension and we can't possibly let Kimberly keep going on like this." Billy said as he and Alpha began batting ideas off one another in the hopes of figuring something out.

It was then that she asked the dreaded question. "Tommy, who took it? Did one of the tanga's get it?" she didn't understand how, they had defeated them all before they would have had the chance to get that far. She waited for the response as she looked up at her boyfriend who was now simply holding her and staring at the floor to his left away from her. "Tommy, please...what's wrong?" she reached up and turned his face to her.

"Katherine..."

"What about her?"

"She took it Kimberly, she stole it from you and gave it to Rita..."

Kimberly paled, she thought Katherine was her friend, she had been nothing but nice to her since she showed up in angel grove. She had even ignored how she clung to Tommy and always seemed to want his attentions. Sadly she couldn't think much more about it as pain hit her once more and she hid her face in Tommy's neck as his hold tightened on her small form. "Tommy, it hurts..."

"I know beautiful, just hold onto me." Tommy looked to the others and signalled for them to head home. "I've got her guys...find out where Katherine is. But don't confront her about it, keep a close eye but if we get to close Zed may try something and Kim could suffer more." Watching the other leave he laid down on the bed next to her. "Just lay still Kim...everything's going to be ok."

"Tommy, you need to be the one to talk to Kat...Maybe Rita's using her spells again like she did to you."

"I'm not leaving you, not for one second." He told her straight out, staring down at her as he rolled to lean on one arm over her. "What if something happens and I'm not here with you?"

"And what if I get worse because we didn't track Kat down in time? You need to be with the team, you're their leader and if anything happens you'll be told right away." Kim smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

"Why do you have to be smart...?" he hugged her one last time before getting off the bed and leaning down. "I love you..." he kissed her sweetly, remembering that he was still being watched by Zordon and couldn't get to into it as he would have liked. Cutting it short he stood up straight and warped from the command center to find the others.

Katherine sat in the park, running her fingers over the picture she had stolen from Kimberly. She smiled softly and tucked it back in her pocket before Rita appeared before her leaning on the tree trunk. "There's my little kitty kat!" she cackled in that disgusting tone as always.

"Tommy is stressed out of Kimberly still and they all seem upset..." Katherine glared at the ground and seethed at the thought of Kimberly and Tommy together. Why did he have to care so much for that pretty in pink midget? What did she have that Katherine couldn't give him? Tuning out as Rita ranted on about the destruction of the power rangers Kat focused on the next part of the plan. She had to Kimberly out of the command center if she wanted her gone. As Rita left once more with the updates for Zedd the tangas arrived and the next phase came into play.

"Ai-yai-yai! Zordon, the tangas are in the park!" he shouted as he ran to the viewing globe.

Kimberly forced herself to sit up enough that she could see for herself and it was then that she viewed Katherine under attack. "She's in trouble, I have to do something."

**"Kimberly, without your power coin you're powers could fade at any moment. They are not reliable and your condition makes it even worse."**

"I have to help her Zordon. Call the other rangers and have them meet me there." She got off the bed and groaned as she held her face before taking hold of her morpher. As she warped to the park Kim knew she wouldn't last long but maybe she could talk to Katherine herself and figure this out, she couldn`t believe Kat would do something like to her.

But when she arrived on scene, something was wrong. The tangas weren`t attacking, they weren`t even moving. Looking around frantically she tried to find Katherine but saw no one. "What in the world?" she turned to look over her shoulder and felt a sharp pain in her neck. Blurred vision came into play and she shook as a voice filled her mind.

"Sleep tight Kimberly..." Katherine removed the needle from her neck and watched as Kim passed out on the ground, the tangas moving in to take her to Lord Zed.

Tommy and the others stood in front of Zordon in confusion. "What's going on? Did Rita attack or something?" Billy asked as he saw Tommy looking at a now empty bed.

"Where...is..she?" he growled out, turning sharply to Zordon.

"**Observe the viewing globe...we are receiving a message."**

"_Hello rangers!"_

"No way..."

"How did he get in there?"

"Let's ask a more important question..." Tommy stepped in front of everyone and felt his blood boiling. "Where is she Zed?"

"_Oh, are you talking about that lovely young pink ranger you hold so dear. Why she's comfortably kept in my chambers, awaiting my return as I drain her power slowly. And just so you know white ranger, she screams so prettily."_

"You bastard..."

"_Name call all you want...I'm the one holding all the cards."_

"What do you want Zed!"

"_I have what I want. I have myself a lovely new companion and you white ranger will never see her again. Goodbye Rangers." _ His laugh echoed in the command center as Tommy shouted in angry, slamming his fists down on the mother board.

"That mother fucker has Kimberly! I'll fucking kill him!"

"Slow your roll Tiger, first we have to get you there." Aisha said as she looked to Rocky, Adam and Billy. "Any ideas."

"if I can get my transporter working, we may be able to warp Tommy there, but it's a long shot at best." Billy told the group nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"We have no other choice...I promise Kim I'd keep her safe..." Tommy said as his heart ached in his chest.

Kimberly lay on a soft bed, her body chilled from exposure as she looked down to see her clothing had be taken, replaced with a simply thin sheet. She moved to get up but found her wrists shackled to the head board. "What?" she whispered, her body so incredibly weak and drained. She didn't even have the effort to scream for help. Katherine...Kathering had done this to her, had made her come to this horrible place. "Tommy...help me..."she passed out and the darkness took over.

**tbc**


	3. Chapter Two: First confrontation

**An: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews and support. I wasn't sure if people were going to comment on it or not but thanks so much. Please continue to let me know how you like it. 3**

**Disclaimer: Do not own...*runs away and cries***

**Chapter Two**

Tommy stood in front of his open locker, stuffing his books inside. He hadn't slept at all the night before, he'd tossed and turned like crazy thinking about what that fucker were doing to his girlfriend. His beautiful Kimberly, trapped there with an evil over lord and dying from the loss of her power coin, thinking of it nearly brought the white ranger to tears. The only thing that kept him from completely breaking down was the anger that continued to boil inside of him. Billy was still working on the transporter and they hadn't been able to make contact with Zed since yesterday, though Tommy wasn't going to sit around and wait for that transporter to be completely finished, there was still one other person who he could reach and try to help Kimberly.

Walking down the halls in his white jeans, t-shirt and tan coloured button up shirt; he let his hair loose to hang over his shoulders as he tried his best to smile at a certain Australian blonde who was walking into the high school library. He walked in calmly behind her and followed her at a safe distance until he watched her stop at an aisle of books. Checking carefully to make sure no one else was around before he moved in, Tommy came up behind her and grabbed her wrists, holding them to her sides as he growled in her ear. Sometime he hated his own rules against hating woman. "Where is she Kat?"

Katherine was taken by surprise as she felt his firm grip on her wrists, his strong chest against her back and that voice whispering in her ear. She had always wanted him so close, but her dreams had been under completely different circumstances. "Tommy...I don't know what you're talking about.." she said innocently, pretending to be scared, though a part of her honestly was fearful of him. How did he know? What did he know? "Tommy, you're hurting me.." she whined, trying to get free only for him to turn her around and glare at her as he held her painfully tight.

"Oh am I? Well tough shit. This is nothing compared to what I want to do to you Kat. If it was my decision I would tear you apart piece by piece."

"Tommy please, don't say things like that.."

"Why? Do they hurt your feelings?" Tommy had a similar look to on his face when he was the green ranger, but he was in complete control. He hated being like this but he needed to scare her into helping him. He sure as hell wasn't going to woo her into submission, she'd enjoy that too much. "You stole her power coin, did you know it would kill her if you were to hand it over to Rita and Zed? Did you honestly think it would get you anywhere?"

"Tommy, you don't understand. She had me under a spell, I didn't know what I was doing until it was too late. Please Tommy.." she cried, tears gathering in her eyes. It was hard to tell whether her words were truthful or just another lie she needed to string together to keep close to him. At the moment, he chose the later.

He had been controlled by Rita once as well, there was no way he could deny the possibility that Katherine had been under mind control, though at the same time the actions weren't just aimed at the power rangers like most of Rita's plans were, it seemed to circle around Kimberly and Kimberly alone. Never the less he released his hold and looked at her with a simple gentle expression. "Look, I don't know what's going with all this, but what I do know is that Kimberly is in a lot of danger."

Katherine was smiling to herself in her mind, her plan was working. "I'm sure it will work out Tommy, you'll find a way to get her back safe." She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder as she smield to him gently. Letting her female charms speak for her she then looked up to the clock, "Tommy, I have to go to the youth center. I'm taking my dance class in a few minutes. Would you mind walking me there?"

"Kat I can't, I have to get back to Billy and the others to see how the transporter is working."

"It will only a minute and then you can make sure Rita doesn't get a hold of me again." She said, doe eyes staring at him with fake fear as she held his shoulder. "I hate to be a bother but it may only cause more trouble if I go alone." She pointed out, trying to appeal to his protective nature.

Thinking over the best possible way to handle this Tommy decided to just take her to the youth center, that way he could keep an eye on her until she was in the presence of a group, and it would appease her enough to shut up for five minutes. What he didn't like was the fact that she held his arm the entire way there, receiving look after look from people who knew he was dating Kim. Dropping her off inside the front door he went to move away when he was pulled back to Kat. "Thanks Tommy, you're such a gentleman," she leaned up and kissed his cheek before waltzing inside, leaving a very confused Tommy Oliver behind to wipe his cheek angrily and glare at her disappearing figure.

_'if that woman doesn't quit it I'm gonna have to let my rules go for a minute and just smack her'_ he thought to himself as he ran the rest of the way to Billy's house.

xXx

Kimberly groaned in pain as she lay on the table now, it turned slowly as the machine slowly drained her power. She was covered with a sheet, which did little to hide her body from the grunts that wandered around and the guards who wouldn't let up. She was far too weak to fight back or even try to move, so bindings were not needed. She just laid there still and occasionally whimpering in pain when the machine was levelled up. Staying conscious was a battle as it was. She tried to speak, to cry to scream but nothing came. Just a soft and shuttering breath before she went into a fit of weak coughing before settling back down and being silent once more. "Oh so sad my little pet." His voice chuckled as Zed entered the room, staff in hand as he ran it up her leg before removing it, making her shiver in disgust. "So weak, so helpless." His cold metal claws ran down her cheek to her collar bone, moving slowly to inch towards her breast. "Dear white ranger, why won't you come save this poor little creature?" he teased, seeing the pain and suffering reflecting in those tired brown eyes. "I'll be back later my princess, to fully enjoy you..." he turned and left the room, laughing joyously as she was left to let the tears running down her cheeks.

"Tommy." She whispered before she passed out once more.

xXx

"Okay, looks like everything is a go." Billy said as he rigged up the last of the wires and looked to Tommy who was awaiting his update nervously. "The transporter is linked onto Kimberly's communicator. This should take you right to where Zed is hiding her. It won't get you there for long. Find Kimberly and warp her home, from there you may have enough time to look and find her power coin."

"Got it." He nodded sternly and walked forward through the warp. _'I'm coming Kim...just hang on.'_

**TBC**


	4. Chapter Three: Saved for the moment

**An: Thanks again for the awesome reviews and support. Please keep letting me know through reviews so continue to upload.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own...**

**Chapter Three**

Katherine sat amongst the others, an uncomfortable silence falling over everyone as Tommy vanished to Zed's dimension. Lounging in Billy's garage was usually a fun experience, hanging out and watching movies but at the moment everyone was so tense no one could even crack a smile. Aisha sighed as she leaned against a work bench on the far wall next to Rocky. "You think it's true? That she was under Rita's spell?"

"I don't buy it...Tommy told me about the time he was under the spell, when he came out of it, he couldn't remember anything until he was told he'd been under a spell, then slowly the memories of what he did came back. How could Kat know everything that she'd done if the spell was of the same kind?" Billy whisper, low enough so Kat didn't hear as she sat with Adam playing go fish for something to pass the time.

"Right now we just need to get Kim home and find her power coin, we can deal with Kat later..." Aisha glared at her, hating the fact that her best friend was slipping away because of that Australian blonde...

"Well, I made the decision to call for back up. Jason, Trini and Zack are on their way here." Billy explained as he sat in a lawn chair. "I figured it would be best if we had all the help we can get."

xXx

In Zed's world Tommy had just arrived in the chamber that Kim was held. He had yet to morph, waiting until needed to conserve energy. He stalked along the wall, trying to sneak up on the guards. Over sized and small minded they were taken down quietly as he leapt over their bodies to run towards Kimberly. She was so still, pale as death and her breathing was laboured. Leaning over her on the table he ran his hand over her cheek, his thumb brushing her lips. "Beautiful, come on Kim open your eyes..." he cooed softly in her ear, leaning back to look into her eyes as they softly fluttered open.

"T-Tommy.." she croaked, her voice weak and barely heard.

"Hush baby, I'm gonna get you out of here..." He went to pick her up and found her shackled to the table. "Dammit...hold on." He heard someone coming and ducked into the shadows. He'd couldn't involve her in a fight, he had to be careful and steal her away as quietly as possible. But his anger rose as he saw Zed coming in and approaching her.

_"Hello, pet...how are you fairing?"_ he teased, that venom filled voice sending a disgusting chill down the white ranger's spine. That bastard had some nerve_... "You lay so prettily."_ Tommy watched and had to force himself to stay hidden as Zed cupped his girlfriend's cheek while his other clawed metal hand ran down the length of her small form. 

Tommy wasn't going to sit and watch his girlfriend get molested by this monster. Morphing quietly while hidden in the shadow, the white ranger crept behind him and hook his foot around Zed's ankle, "Hey mother fucker!" he pulled back and sent Zed tumbling to the ground after whacking his face off the table Kimberly was laying on. "Don't you fucking touch her!" he shouted angrily, standing in front of the tablet and taking his stance, drawing his sword as he readied himself for battle.

_"How on earth did you find your way here?"_ Zed growled as he swung his staff towards Tommy, standing to take his own stance.

"As if I'd fill you in bastard," Tommy avoided the swung from the staff as Zed came at him but he didn't have time to tear him apart like he would have liked. He needed to get Kim out of here and find that damn power coin. Working quickly he gave a sharp kick to Zed's chest, long enough to knock him down so Tommy could pick Kimberly up and warped back to the garage.

_"Damn you white ranger!"_

xXx

As he appeared in the garage he set Kimberly on the couch and knelt to be at her level as Trini brought over a blanket, having arrived with the others shortly before Tommy warped back. "She'll be ok Tommy, she's just weak. Zordon contacted us."

"I didn't have time to get her power coin..." he whispered, not truly listening.

"Tommy," Jason put his hand on his friend's shoulder, getting him to look at him. "Zordon disconnected her link to the power coin, that way it won't hurt her until we can get it back from that metal freak. Understand?" he needed to be stern with him, knowing the emotions were hard to control for Tommy right now.

Nodding the former red ranger he returned to normal and simply sat on the floor next to the couch, holding Kimberly's hand. She was still only wrapped in the sheet he had stolen from where she was being held. Looking to Trini there was a silent understanding to find her something to wear. In the mean time, Tommy took off his dress shirt and laid it over top of her. Holding her hand tightly in his own he waited until she woke up. His heart was pounding in his chest but at the same time he was glad that Zed couldn't hurt her for now. Lifting up, he kissed her soft and was thrilled when he felt her kissing back. His hand cupped her face as they kissed sweetly, her soft hands on his shoulders, rubbing them gently.

"Tommy...you saved me..."

"Of course I did, did you ever doubt I'd come for you Beautiful?"

"I could never doubt my white knight." She kissed him one more time and with his help was able to sit up while she was held, leaning on his shoulder and taking his hair out of a ponytail so she could run her finger's through it. It always calmed her down as he did the same with her, rubbing her back and petting her hair while he laid soft kisses on her cheek and neck, holding her to his strong form. "I love you Tommy.." she whispered gently.

"I love you too Kim...but you need to rest still. We should get you home. You're mom is gonna be worried where you vanished to. Come on..." he picked her up with the sheet around her and carried her inside once Trini gave him the clothes for her to change into.

Across the room the gang smiled as the loves were reunited while Katherine stood with her arms crossed, unhappy with the results. He was not supposed to save her, she was supposed to die! Kat was supposed to comfort him in time of need and have her fall for her! None of this was right! "I should get going..." Katherine said, needing to meet up with Rita to figure out their next move now that Tommy had foiled their plans.

No one really said anything as she left but Aisha was glaring angrily as the blonde sulked from the garage and began to walk home. "I still don't buy it. We need to keep an eye on her."

"Agreed."

xXx

Kimberly was changed into a pair of white leggings and a pale grey sweater that was over sized and hung off her one shoulder. Tommy helped her to put her hair in a high side ponytail before Kim gave herself the once over in the mirror. Even in her exhausted state she didn't want him seeing her look a wreck. But she was stopped from primping when she felt two strong arms around her waist. "I'm glad you're safe," his voice was shaking, finally letting his fear get the best of him. "I thought I lost you Kim...he had you lock up and was killing you...and I was helpless..." he held her tighter and hid his face in her hair, trying not to let the hot tears fall.

Shocked by his behaviour it took her a moment to respond, but she understood how he felt. Tommy was always there to protect her no matter what happened and in that moment he couldn't so anything to make her pain stop. Sighing she turned in his arms and moved to sit up on the bathroom counter, hugging him to her as she spread her legs, his body now flush to her own. "I'm right Tommy, I'm here and I'm safe...we'll get through this." But Kimberly was just as scared. "Zordon disconnected me..."

"You'll share the powers with the rest of it."

"For how long though?"

"It'll be ok..." Tommy tried to convince himself it would last long enough for them to find her coin and return her to normal.

"Tommy, I'm really scared..." she didn't have time to say anything else because his lips pressed to hers to shut up any more protests.

"Kimberly, I'm here for you. I will never let go. No matter what happens I will always be with you. Trust in me."

"I will...I do..."

**tbc**


	5. Chapter Four: Just be with me

**An: Thanks again for the comments everyone. Keep them coming please. And to clarify, this is a romance based story, it is meant to focus on Tommy and Kimberly but I hate plot-less romances so I added the evil Katherine plot line to further the story so it didn't dead pan. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own...**

**Chapter Four**

Her fists were clenched as she strolled down the sidewalk towards her home. Eyes with fury shining brightly in them Katherine marched into her home and went straight to her bedroom. Slamming the door shut she was glad no one was home to bother her while she screamed in frustration. That fucking bitch was alive and getting better, that wasn't supposed to fucking happen! Turning to her backpack she brought out the ripped picture of Tommy and held it in her shaking hand, "This is not over...you always have to be the hero don't you..?" she slapped the photo down on the dresser and went for a shower, needing to cool down and think of her next plan.

xXx

Coming back into the garage Kimberly immediately felt her body swept into a nearly bone crushing hug by Jason. "I leave for a few months and you almost die. I am never leaving again." He told her as she was finally over her shock and hugged him back.

"I'm ok now Jason. I'm going to be just fine." She said, wondering who exactly she was trying to convince.

"Either way, the peace tour is done for us. We talked to Zordon, with this happening and the rangers being targeted in such a deadly manner we can't afford to lose our strengths.." Jason looked to the newer members of the team. "You will all remain rangers, but we will assist you in all ways unless you are battling in the zords." Jason held up his wrist to show the communicators that Trini, Zack and himself now wore once more. "I'm saying you're not strong enough, but we can't risk it."

Tommy agreed with a sharp nod as he put an arm around Kimberly, leading her towards the garage door. "I'm going to get Kimberly home to rest. I'll meet the rest of you at school tomorrow. Keep in touch and keep an eye on you know who."

xXx

"You don't have to stay with me Tommy..." Kimberly said as she was tucked into her bed and snuggled under the white comforter. She felt his body settle next to hers. She had called her mother in France and told her she had been too busy studying to call for the last little while which didn't surprise her mother. Now she was laying in bed with her boyfriend, his body spooned against hers under the sheets as they changed pajamas. Instead of taking her home to stay at Aisha's house Tommy had convinced his parents to let her stay with him for the next few weeks. Kimberly let on that she wasn't feeling well, and she missed her parents, on top of that the Oliver's knew she felt much more comfortable in their home.

"I know, but I just don't want to let you go..." his lips moved to her neck to lay gentle kisses.

Turning around she stole his lips and pulled him over her. Breaking the kiss, she knew she had to come clean with all that happened in that place. She was helpless, unable to move and barely able to speak while that monster kept her prisoner, but Kim was a fighter and a perfectionist and felt guilt that she couldn't have fought back harder against him. Tommy wasn't oblivious to the look on her face, and pulled back further to really take her in. Looking down at her he could see something in her eyes he had yet to notice. Desperation, need, sadness and guilt. "Kimberly...what's the matter?" Tommy wasn't a man to play with words, simple and direct was the only way to go.

"Tommy...the things that happened in that place...he didn't just want to drain my power." She took a deep but shaking breath, "He wanted to make me his...to steal me and keep me prisoner...He tr-.." she was getting choked up and Tommy couldn't help but grow worried.

"Kim...what did he do?"

"He tried to..." she whimpered and covered her face, "He tried to take me..." the words took a few minutes to sink in but when he caught on Tommy understood that the bastard hadn't tried to molest her just that one night when Tommy got there...he'd already been doing it before they could reach her.

"Kim did he..?"

"No...he didn't get the chance..."

He sighed in relief but he knew damage had been done to his beautiful girl. Looking to the door he made sure he had locked it before turning back to her and sitting up, straddling her waist and looking down at her, clad in a thin pink tank top and white pajama shorts with her hair tossed like a halo on the pillow. She would was perfect in every way to him, so precious to his heart. Tommy swore once again that Zed would never have her, never touch his angel again. Slowly he bent over and kissed her cheek, her neck, her shoulders, hands running over her side to creep under her shirt carefully. "Tommy...what are you-"

"Forget him, only know me. My touch, my kiss, my love. Not him Kimberly. Never again will he harm you..." he claimed her lips in passion, opening her lips to him as he drew her tongue into his mouth. His fingers intertwined with hers as she moaned deeply, giving into his idea. Zed had touched her, groped her but he had not taken her and she knew he never would so long as Tommy was there to protect her.

He was gentle and careful with his touches. It wasn't as if they hadn't had sex before, but this was different. She had been kidnapped, taken from his grasp and touched by that bastard. The possessive side of him roared to ripe out Zed's throat and make him die a slow and painful death, however now was not the time to focus on that, he needed to focus his attention completely on Kimberly.

His hands moved under her shirt, slowly inching it up higher until it slid over her head and was forgotten somewhere on the floor along with his own. Piece by piece their clothing slipped away until now could be found between them, skin to kin, nose to nose they stared at one another as Tommy kissed her brow. "I love you Kimberly Hart...never forget that..." he kissed down her neck. "I love your shoulders, and your neck..." he moved down, hands rubbing her sides, "Your chest..." his tongue flicked over her rosy peak before suckling sweetly. He moaned as he felt her nails run down his back, listening to her moans and gentle gasps was like hearing the sweetest music. Tommy was just glad his parents weren't home.

Moving up from her chest he whispered, "Your eyes, your hair, your skin, your voice...you lips..." he kissed her one last time. "Everything about you..."

"I love you too Tommy..."

They moved to lay flush to each other on the bed, Tommy's much large form laying over her but he knew how to situate it so they didn't hurt each other. The point was not to have sex, it was to be close, to love each other and let her know she was his. Besides, it's hard to have sex with your parents upstairs...Tommy's room was in the basement and his parents gave them plenty of privacy to do whatever they please (so long as they were safe) but he was always more comfortable at night when he knew they were two floors away sleeping or when they went out. His one hand moved through her light brown hair before settling at the base of her base and pulling into yet another kiss, sweeping her away from the memories of Zed's cruel touch.

xXx

**Tbc**


	6. Chapter Five: How Far?

**An: Thanks again for the comments everyone. I know it's short but please let me know what you think. How far will Kat go?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own...**

**Chapter Five**

The next few weeks were rough on the young pink ranger, having to deal with not only the weakening of her body and the nightmares as she dealt with memories of Zedd, but on top of it all she was also in the middle of her training for the pan global gymnastics team. She wasn't all to keen on the thought of leaving Angel Grove to be on the team but there was no harm in entering the competition. Tommy on the other hand thought it was a horrible idea.

Her body was still adjusting as her powers weren't as strong as before, making her weak and tired all the time. Now she was training every spare moment she found time to sneak away to the youth center and practice. Today however, the final straw was awfully close to be drawn. At the end of a battle, she passed out in his arms from sheer exhaustion. At the moment he was driving her back to the youth center after he tried to talk her out of training and failed miserably. Her stubbornness rivalled his in some aspects, and this moment he hated that fact. All her wanted to do was protect her but instead he was just making her more inclined to go against his wishes and train. Driving in the jeep the trip was silent between the two of them, neither too willing to speak to one another. Finally as he pulled up to the front entrance he sighed and turned to her, "Are you sure you don't need me to stick around, spot you or something?"

"No it's not necessary..." she then turned to him more and smiled, "thank you though. That's very nice of you." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before pulling away, only for him to grab her and pulled her back to him, kissing her passionately. It was one of those kisses that had she been standing her knees would have buckled instantly. Instead she swooned against him, her body leaning into his welcomed embrace. Finally breaking the kiss she whispered his name and smiled gently, "Tommy..."

"You know I love you right...I know I'm..over bearing sometimes, ordering you and shit but I just..I want you safe Kim."

"I know Tommy," she let him hold her a while longer before she moved to exit the vehicle. "I'll call you the moment I'm home okay?" she waved goodbye and let him pull away as she entered the youth center.

Ernie was leaving soon but trusted her enough to lock up when she finished, so after the man headed out she proceeded to the beam and nervously set her gym bag down. There was a move she just couldn't seem to nail. Every time she went to do it her nerves got the best of her and she couldn't complete the spin, usually finding herself face first on the mat. "Come on Kim...you can do this." She told herself as she mounted the beam.

**xXx**

Katherine sat at home seething in anger, trying to come up with something to get rid of Kimberly. She was still working along side Rita but that woman had no useful plans that could come into play. No, she would do this on her own. The first thing she needed to know was the location of the said pink ranger. Though it wasn't all that hard when you work with a space witch who could see them in a globe at any time of day. She simply contacted Rita and informed her of a plan to rid them of Kimberly, telling her it would weaken the power ranger permanently against attacks. With Rita on board Katherine headed to the youth center for some much needed revenge...

She arrived as Kimberly was practicing her routine on the beam, gracefully completing part of it but struggling with one move. She watched as the petite brunette worked her way into the spin and saw her ankle roll over, sending her flying off the beam and landing hard the mats. Her neck snapped back, the back of her skull smacking harshly to the floor before Kat watched her body tense and arch in pain, the young woman was not getting up. Anyone else would have screamed for help as the pink ranger fell into unconsciousness, but this...this was what she had been hoping for. Fate had done half the work for her. Reaching into her purse she pulled out a match and stuck it against the match box, watching the flame ignite. "Bye bye Kimmy...Tommy will get over you soon enough." She purred, sneaking through the door and tossing the match onto the mats near Kim but not the ones she was laying on. She fled the scene quickly and walked calmly home...

**xXx**

Tommy had arrived home and been home for ten minutes before he thought about Kimberly and her training. She was so tired and weak from the power coin issues and her new routines, it wasn;t safe for her to be alone at the youth center this late at night. Jumping from his bed he raced to the jeep and hurried his drive back to the center, but on his way he saw a glowing light in the night sky. Panic hit him and he sped up, blowing a few stop signs in the process but he didn't care, he needed to find out what that glow was...and why he had a feeling Kimberly was in danger.

On scene his heart nearly exploded, the youth center was up in flames in the work out section, the fire mainly contained inside because the doors were shut, but as he ran by one of the window his fears came to life as his eyes settled on Kimberly passed out in the middle of the flames. "Jesus Christ!" he grabbed his morpher form his pocket, "White ranger power!" he morphed quickly and raced inside. The suit could only protect him so much but he knew he had to try. "Kimberly! Kimberly!" he shouted, hoping to wake her, but no answer came.

Tommy struggled to reach her, jumping over flaming equipment and dodging the falling roof tiles. The sprinkler system wasn't coming on for some god forsaken reason and Tommy sore he would have sued had be not liked Ernie so much. Finally reaching her side he went to move her but she groaned in pain, he'd have to be careful. "Come on Beautiful, we gotta get you out of here..." he needed to get her to a hospital and quick. Looking over his shoulder he saw his way out had been blocked by more fire and with that he tucked her close to his chest and warped from the scene, right outside and de-morphed in case someone saw him. "Come Kim, open those eyes, come on baby." He begged, reaching frantically to his back pocket to get his cell phone. Laying her on the ground, a safe distance from the flames he called 911, which was already on route from a call by neighbours of the center. "I need an ambulance, my girlfriend was trapped inside. No I got her out, I'm fine just please hurry up, she's hurt!"

"Tommy.."

"I'm right here kim.."

"My head..." she was starting to slip out again when he shut his phone and made her look at him, not letting her drift away.

"You have got to stay with me, do you understand? No sleeping,"

"But I'm so tired..."

"I know, just hold on a bit longer.."

The white ranger spent the next ten minutes panicking, wondering where in the hell they could possibly. He had contacted all the rangers to meet him at the hospital, with the exception of Jason and Trini who brought Tommy's parents to the scene in time to see Kimberly being loaded into the ambulance as Tommy was nearly breaking down. "Tommy dear!" his mother raced to her son and tried to calm him down.

"I need to go with her, I can't leave her mom..."

"We will take you to the hospital and meet her there, she's in good hands. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine...just a bit of tightness in my lungs but they checked me..." Tommy turned to firemen who were trying to put out the fire, "if I would have stayed...if I would have just.."

"Don't do that to yourself." Jason demanded, putting a firm hand on his shoulder. As Tommy's parents went to their own car and the rangers loaded up in Tommy's jeep Jason spoke again quietly, "there's no way this was an accident...we'll find out who did this. We'll meet up with the other at the hospital and the minute Kim is stable we have some investigating to do."

"I'm coming with you.."

"You need to be with Kim, we'll call you if anything comes up, you know that." Trini said, again being the voice of reason.

Jason ended up driving instead of Tommy, the other being shaken at the idea of his love hurting without him there to be with her. The nurse was walking out to the waiting room as Tommy came running in to stop her dead in her tracks. "Ms Hart, where is Ms Kimberly Hart?"

"Sir, I need to know your relation."

"I'm her boyfriend, she's living with my family. Her mother lives in france and the father isn't in the picture anymore." He spoke quickly but this was urgent. "Tommy Oliver."

"Tommy? She's been asking for you...right this way." She explained on the way that Kim was stable but her asthma had been bothered and she had fallen off the beam whilst practicing, giving her a concussion.

There she was, laying peacefully, clad in a hospital gown and her hair still up in a ponytail. Her eyes were tired, as was her smile but she was going to be ok. He ran to her side, covering her face with kisses and holding her hands in his until he finally kissed her lips passionately, though softly in fear of hurting her. "I love you..I love you...don't you ever...scare me..like that...again.." he kissed her again and finally pulled away, sitting on her bed as they held eachother tightly and cried to eachother. The thought of losing eachother was just too much.

**xXx**

**TBC**


	7. Chapter Six: New Revelations

**Different Paths **

**Chapter 1**

Kimberly was sitting in Tommy's room, nervously picking at her finger nails as he was downstairs preparing some lunch for the two of them. Anymore it was becoming difficult to be apart from him, as the usually strong willed young woman was severely affected by her near death experience. The group had yet to tell her who caused her accident but she had her own ideas as to who was behind it, who else would be giving her trouble constantly? Rita and Zedd weren't one for murder without giving her an opportunity to fight back. But to light the youth center on fire while she was unconscious inside was low...even for those messed up space freaks. Rubbing her temples she groaned in pain as yet another headache took hold of her. "Everything alright beautiful?" asked her white knight as he came into the bedroom with a tray in hand.

"Just another head ache..." she droned, knowing it would be normal for the next while according to the doctor she had spoken to before leaving.

"I told you to lay back down."Tommy told her in a stern but ever loving voice. He set the tray on his nightstand and sat on the bed next to her, drawing her petite form to hers. "You're shaking...should I call the doctor?"

"No, I'm just...I'm scared Tommy..." she whispered softly, hiding her face in his chest for a moment whilst gripping the material of his white t-shirt.

"I know..it's okay. I'm done letting this happen. I should have never left you in the first place when you went to the gym. From now on, you stick with me until we can get this sorted out." It was then that his communicator signalled and a groaned slipped by his lips. Raising his wrist he spoke, "Go ahead Zordon."

"**Tommy, we have grave news of the attack on Kimberly. Can you warp anytime soon?"** he asked.

The leader was not so sure but when he went to reply Kimberly was already up out of bed and changing. "I'll be there Zordon.," he shut off communication and stared at his girlfriend. "And where do you think you're going?"

"I'm coming with you of course, there's no way I'm missing a meeting because of a headache. I promise I'll come right back to bed. But I know you, and if it's something bad or that might hurt my feelings you won't tell me. I want to hear it for myself." She pointed out; knowing she was right and Tommy had no defence.

Huffing he stood up and waited for her to be ready before he signalled alpha to warp them to the command center. The group, including the old rangers, had gathered in the center and were facing Zordon. Kimberly was leaning against Tommy and he had his arm around her while they were addressed. "What did you find out?"

"**It will come to no shock that your suspicions were correct rangers." **The mentor spoke solemnly as he gazed upon the group of teens. **"It appears Katherine has been working willingly with both Lord Zedd and Rita. Though now she acts alone and without their direction to try and kill Kimberly."**

Kimberly looked to the ground and felt the tears coming on. She was friends with the girl, or so she believed. She had introduced her to her friends, invited her to hang out at the beach and the juice bar. The first time she believed the other had been under a spell but now...she was doing it with her own choices. She simply felt the hand on her waist squeeze firmly as his other hand was clenched in a fist at his side. His gaze was like fire as he glared at the floor. "Tommy?" she asked softly, trying to draw him from his trance.

"I swear to God Kim, she's going to pay.." he whispered before he felt her hand on his cheek and was forced to meet her eyes.

"We have to be careful with this Tommy, maybe if we can get her here we can talk to her."

"Are you sure it's safe for her to be around you Kim?" Trini asked, coming to her best friend's side and looking worried to the rest of the team.

"We can't let her get away with it but what evidence do we have of this even happening? Think about it, how would we tell police? We have a magic globe that lets us observe and we saw Katherine try to kill Kim...because that's definitely plausible." Zack pointed out as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Point taken..." Jason nodded in agreement and looked to Tommy who was seething but trying to remain calm.

"Okay...we bring her here, but we keep Kimberly hidden. I don't want her anywhere that Katherine could influence, and at this point Zed could get to you too. There's no doubt they've been watching you in your weakened state." Tommy then pulled her closer to his chest, "I can't risk this happening again. None of us can." He whispered, clearly this danger to his love was taking a toll on him.

"But how are we going to get her alone so we can ambush?"

Tommy looked to Kim and knew he was going to have to get Kat's attention. "Kimberly, stay here in the command center, its the safest pace for you to be protected right now. Adam and Aisha, stay with her, make sure she rests. The of use will go get Katherine..." Tommy sighed, "I really do hate this..."

"Not our fault she fell ass over tea kettle for ya hot shot." Kimberly pointed out, trying to lightening the situation with her usual spunk. The group teased their leader who felt like he was going to his death bed.

They worked out a plan that Tommy would go to the high school and find Katherine on his own, proceeding to ask her to a see a movie, saying that Kimberly wasn't feeling well and he didn't want to go alone. They would go to the theatre and once they got her out of a sight they would warp her to the command center and begin the interrogation without the worry of outsider involvement or the fact that Zedd and Rita could see them. What was killing Tommy was the fact that he actually had to lower his pride enough to ask her on a date...a fake one but it still kind of counted. "It's not like you actually have to go on the date, we'll interrupt before it even starts but you have to make it seem real." Kimberly said, trying to convince him that it was ok. "Maybe we can talk her out of this madness..."

For someone who had almost committed murder only a few nights before Katherine was extremely calm as she walked down hallway. Her books were hugged tightly to her chest and as she came into the cafeteria she saw a large card that was set up for people to sign that would be given to Kim at the end of the week. Gritting her teeth she signed it anyway, not wanting to seem out of place to anyone, since those at the school knew she was friends with the group. As she went to sign her name she felt a hand tap her shoulder. Turning around she was met with that gorgeous face that took over her every thought. "Oh, hi Tommy..." she whispered with a smile.

"Hey, what are you up to?" he asked, trying his best to pull the best acting job of his life.

"Just signing Kim's card, it's horrible what happened to her. But what on earth are you doing here? I would have thought you'd be off with Kimberly." She tried desperately to keep the venom out of her voice.

"Well she didn't want me sitting there all day and frankly I was getting bored taking care of her every whim. I was planning to take her to the movies tonight, but with her not feeling well I'm stuck flying solo and this extra ticket. I was thinking about taking you." He suggested. "I mean, I feel bad about accusing you before really knowing the facts about Kim. I let my anger get the best of me, I know now you would never do that." He lied thickly, placing his hand on her waist. "Would you mind joining me?" he asked softly.

Katherine was swooning at his every word, completely falling under his spell and from around the corner the group watched carefully. "If I didn't know any better I'd say he was actually hitting on her..." Adam whispering to Jason who was glaring.

"Yeah, I just hope she honestly takes the bait. We need to find a way to get Kat to stop attacking Kim at every whim, we get enough of that from Zedd and Rita."

Within the next few hours Tommy had pulled up at Katherine's house and beeped the horn as she came running out to the vehicle. She was dressed in a light pink tube dress, a white knit sweater and white flip flips and her hair left down. She had tried her best to look right for her first, kinda date, with Tommy Oliver. She got into the passenger's seat and smiled to him, tucking her purse in her lap and sitting there sweetly. Tommy tried his best to smile but he couldn't wait to get this over with. He started the car and pulled out of the lane way, driving through town. He saw the look of confusion on Katherine's face when they drove passed the theatre. "Don't worry, we just need to take care of something first." He told her as they drove to the park and he stopped the vehicle. He helped her out before she was turned to face all the rangers who were standing next to their parked cars.

"What is going on?" she asked shocked as she turned to Tommy.

"We have evidence Katherine, we know your involvement with Kim's incident in BOTH cases." Jason replied.

"That's impossible, I told you! Rita had a spell on me for the first one and I wasn't anywhere around the youth center when it lit on fire!"

"Too bad Alpha ran the tests we asked him too. He didn't find anything like what was going on with Tommy when he was under the spell. And as for the second one, we have video of you doing it Kat. It's over." Billy explained, watching the girl unravel.

"I can't believe you were going to let her die in there!" Trini screamed, glaring at the girl as Jason put a hand on her shoulder. She was usually so calm but she couldn't help it! How could you stay calm when the person who tried to kill your friend was standing right there!

Katherine glared at the group, there was no getting out of here without help. But quickly she smirked, "sorry Rangers, but I'm not going to be stopped so easily..." she didn't need to say any more as the Rangers found themselves surrounded by Putties.

"God dammit I don't have time for these shits!" Tommy cursed as he pulled out his morpher. "It's morphing time!" he called out as most of the group transformed and the old rangers still took a stance.

But the point wasn't to fit. Katherine got away from the group and took hold of a Puttie before they were summoned again by Zedd. "Looks like talking to her isn't going to work..." Rocky sighed and Aisha nodded alongside him.

"Let's gather at the Command center, we officially have a new villain, and Kim will need to know."

"Hello there Kitty Kat." Rita cackled as the girl came walking into the main room.

"Hello Mistress Rita."

"So the rangers know of your evils. I don't see a point of keeping you around.." the woman only needed her to infiltrate the circle and now that it seemed pointless why keep her around?

"I'm still in the school Mistress and my new found hatred for the rangers fuels me to only wish to serve you." She bowed in submission, a smile on her face.

Turning to Zedd and the evil over lord nodded in agreement. "Alright Kitty, you're in!"

"She what?" Kimberly said in shock.

"She went to the other side, so to be speak. God that sounds cheesy" Zack groaned but it was the only way he seemed to be able to put it.

"What on earth is going on in her head?"

"Nothing that isn't her own choice, Billy was running the scanner the entire time; nothing was changing her thought process. She's evil Kimberly," Jason explained, sitting next to her on the couch she was currently resting on in the command center.

The group was quiet for a long while and Kimberly looked up at Zordon. "How will we get my power coin back? We need to be at full strength if we have a new enemy." She pointed out.

It was then that the space leader announced **"Rangers, you will have your same powers, and I have created new zords for the returning rangers. Kimberly is correct in saying that we need to be at full strength. Jason, the gold ranger, Zack the silver ranger, Trini the bronze ranger. As for your power coin Kimberly, you will continue to feed from the other coins until we can safety infiltrate the dimension. For now, you must return and get some rest."**

The group split up as they went home but Kimberly was immediately tucked into Tommy's bed as he got under the blankets with her. They chose to simply watch a movie but the entire time Kim knew his mind was reeling. "Tommy?" she asked gently, moving so sit up fully as he was leaning against the head board. He raised an eye brow and she motioned for him to sit up. Slipping behind him she leaned against the pillows, his form between her legs and leaned back as she rubbed out the tension in his shoulders.

"Kim you don't.."

"I know, but I want to. It`s been hard on everyone, even more so on you. You have to lead the team but you want to protect me with all your strength, I understand. Just relax ok.."

"How can you be so positive, you're their target."

"It's just how I am..." she leaned down and brushed her lips to his. "I love you handsome..."

"I love you too..."

**tbc**


	8. Chapter Seven: For him

**Different Paths**

**Chapter Seven**

**An: thank you so much for the wonderful reviews, they make me smile every time. Keeping letting me know what you think. But there is one thing you need to understand, I do not like Katherine, I do not like her character as nice or turning good. She is evil in this, she is not a good character and in this fanfiction she will not be. If you do not like this do not bother to read the fanfictions. I always appreciate reviews and comments but on that topic I would prefer not to hear about if you like Katherine and feel I am being unfair. It's a fanfiction, thus my opinion. Sorry if it upsets people who like hr but you have been warned. Thanks. 3**

Finally able to attend to school, Kimberly smiled softly as she walked through the halls of the Angel Grove high school. Her head aches had dulled and she didn't need to take medication anymore unless they got really bad, which had yet to happen as of yet. As she made her way to her locker she felt a presence behind her and grinned softly as she turned to see Tommy standing there, his arm stretch over her as he leaned against the hall and loomed over her small form. "Good morning handsome." She cooed, moving to his give him a gentle kiss.

"Where did you vanish this morning? I woke up and you were gone." He was talking through a clenched jaw at the moment as he tried to keep his cool. He had panicked this morning when his bed was empty save himself and nearly called an emergency meeting with the rangers. Luckily his mother had come up to let him know she left early with Trini.

"I haven't spent time with Trini in awhile and she wanted to walk to school together for once. Besides, you needed your rest." She pointed out, standing her ground against him. She knew he was over protective but it wasn't as if she was hurt anymore and she hadn't been alone. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you up handsome but if I had you would not have gone back to bed and gotten the rest you needed." By the look on his face she knew he understood.

"I'm sorry, it's just that Zedd hasn't sent anything down all week and we still can't figure out how to get back into the dimension. Billy can't get the portal configured right again and until he does I can't risk it, on top of that I don't know where he's keeping your coin..."

"Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

"Come here..." she whispered, pulling him close and turning so he leaned against her closed locker as she laid her head on his chest. "Calm down. Let's just try and have a normal day at school, at least until they decide to send some putty or something at us ok?" she suggested, taking his hand to lead him down the hall to their first class.

As they rounded the corner Tommy saw Katherine leaned against the wall next to the stairs and flipping through a magazine. She was dressed in a hot pink tube dress and brown ankle boots with a denim jacket, her hair pulled back away from her face in a half pony tail. As she stood there Kimberly couldn't help but think how much the other was dressing like her, it was unnerving to the pink ranger as she looked down at herself. Katherine was beautiful and at the moment Kim hadn't put much thought into her outfit like she normally did. She was wearing hot white short shorts that were higher waist and a hot pink t-shirt, her pale pink ankle high, laced boots loosely tied. Tommy looked down at Kim and knew she was slightly uncomfortable until he put his arm around her waist. She needed an ego boost, knowing she felt like a burden to him but in his mind she was in no means such, he leaned over to his ear and whispered, "You know how much I love those shorts..." he smirked and watched her blush before they walked away and he gave a stern glare to Katherine. Even with the danger she put Kimberly in they could not comfort her at school, they all needed to keep their ranger business out of the halls of the school as much as possible.

As they came around the corner Jason waved to the pair and they walked into class together, taking their seats as the morning announcements sounded off and English class began. The class went by rather slowly, as did many others and soon enough they were seated in the youth center as Kimberly was finally able to work on some gymnastics. She may not have been joining pan globals or anything like that but it was still a wonderful stress reliever for her. Dressed in her pale pink leotard she eyed the beam carefully. She kept seeing the fire that only happened weeks ago, she saw herself fall in her mind and Katherine throwing the matches in and onto the mats to watch her burn alive. Her breathing picked up as she backed away and closed her eyes, hands over her face as her knees began to buckle.

Watching from the sparring mats Tommy saw her starting to crumble and raced to her side, leaving Zack, who was currently in mid step, to fall flat on his ass as Tommy raced to Kimberly's aid and caught the trembling girl in his arms as she shook and tried to catch her breath. "Tommy, I can't do it..."

"Hush Beautiful, yes you can." He knew she had to do this or she never would, "I'll help you.."

Trini came over and smiled, "we all will. Come on, let's do it." She offered her best friend support as she was calmed and helped to stand.

Taking a deep breath Kimberly held Tommy's hand as she stood up on the beam and walked across it. Her friends had gathered at the far end of the beam smiling at her they offered their support. She needed to get over her fear right away or she may give it up all together, and if her fears got to her in a battle it could be fatal to her ad the team. She worked her way across and Tommy slowly let her hand go as she reached the far end. He walked back and stood at the beginning. "I want you to do your routine, I'm right here, we're all right here." He encouraged as he watched her take her beginning position.

Jason stood on the right side and Billy on the left as the pink ranger smiled gently and went through her beam routine. Her illusions were proper, and as she went through her twists her movements were flawless. Slowly she got back into the groove and finished off with her flip, but didn't manage to stick the landing as he tipped to the side and landed in Tommy's arms. "Good job princess." He cooed, kissing her forehead.

"But I didn't stick it."

"You're too much of a perfectionist. You suffered a head injury and this is your first time back in the gym. That was amazing." Jason said as he gave her a brotherly hug.

"It wasn't the greatest." a young woman said in a snarky way as she walked through the gym in her white leggings and hot pink sleeveless leotard. Katherine's job was to get Kimberly's focused off so that the team would be weakened and easier to defeat in battle. It was a job that not only helped Rita and Zedd but Katherine found an amazing amusement in it. "But I suppose after that kind of accident who could expect you to do well?" she walked by the group laughing with a few other girls she had made friends with in her time away from the rangers. Spiteful women who didn't like Kimberly for dating Tommy, or were jealous of her looks and talent, she was quickly able to come to the head of their group, using some mind control skills Rita had lent her, sadly they didn't work on the rangers.

Kimberly tried her hardest to ignore the way she looked at her and the way the other girls seemed to sneer as Tommy put an arm around her. She didn't blame them though; Tommy was an attractive guy and well known in the school as a sweet heart and a great boyfriend. They knew he was brave and strong, always working out and what not. In turn she did have a few guys who liked her and tried to get her attention but one look at Tommy near her and they usually backed off. Sighing heavily she retired to the change room, saying she'd meet up with them at the tables. Trini and Aisha were quick to follow her into the change room, knowing she was upset.

Zack patted the white ranger on the back, his friends smiling to him while they showered up, changed sat at the juice bar as Ernie smiled and got their usual orders ready. But before the orders were done the dreaded six notes from the communicators went off and Tommy looked to them with a sharp nod as they exited the youth center. "Come in Zordon."

"**Rangers, warp the command center at once."**

"Right, we're on our way." The group found a discrete place behind the youth center out of sight where they could hide and warp to the command center. Upon their arrival Jason stepped forward and asked the simple question of, "what have they got planned this time?"

"**It appears as if Rita and Zedd have sent down a freeze monster to ice the city. Rangers, be careful!"**

"No problem Zordon, ain't nothing we can't handle, right guy?" Zack jested as he spun on his heels and gave Rocky a high five, the group excited with their first time fighting together as one team. "Let get this party rolling." As the group left the command center Tommy flashed a quick smile to Kim before taking her hand.

"It's morphing time!"

X x x

The battle waged on as any other fight occurred. It started out small, then they made him as big as Godzillam as they used their zords to defeat him and sent him crying home to Rita and Zedd. By the end of the misson the rangers stood together in victory, cheering as they watched the people who had been frozen turn back to normal with no recollection of the battle that had been going on around them. "Come on guy, let's..." Tommy stopped speaking, his vision going blurring. "Let..what's..happen..ing..." he passed out in a heap with Kim struggling to hold him out.

"Tommy! Tommy!" she cried as Adam and Billy came to her aid to hold their leader up.

"It's ok Kim, he's just passed out, let's get him back to the command center, maybe Alpha can run a scan on him." She nodded in agreement and felt Trini pat her back as they hurried back to Zordon.

A long hour passed as Tommy lay on the examination table asleep, covered with a blanket and a soft pillow to comfort his head. At his side Kimberly held his hand and stroked his face. "Zordon, what's wrong with him?"

"**It would seem that the strain on Tommy is becoming too great for him to handle."**

"What strain?"

The group went silent before Trini softly spoke up, "Tommy didn't want any of weakened by providing you with power so he's been the one giving you the strength to morph and heal your wounds. It's just taken alot out of him.."

Kimberly's eyes widened in shock. "Tommy you stupid...stupid stupid.." she couldn't come up with a proper insult so instead she laid her head down on his chest and sniffled. "Why do you always do that, think of me before yourself you jerk. How are you supposed to take care of me if you can't even take care of yourself huh? Answer me that ya big loser.." she didn't mean anything she was saying, but she just hated being a burden to him and now she truly was. Turning to the group. "Tommy can't keep doing this, I need to get my power coin back." She explained, remembering the location as to where she was held captive before. Marching over to the still damaged portal and looked to Billy. "I need you to send me to Zedd's dimension."

"No way! It's not safe for anyone there, especially not you! What if they capture you again?"

"I'm the only one they can't take anything from. Think about it, they already have my power coin and I'm not connected to it at the moment. If I go I can still fight them and maybe steal it back." She looked to Jason sternly, "I have to do this, if I don't...it will only hurt him more, all of you more. Please..." she looked up at Zordon, "Please..." 

"**Only on the condition that you take this device with you."** Zordon handed her an emergence locator. **"hit the center key and you will be sent right back here with hesitation. It will last longer than the portal gate incase you run into trouble."**

"Thanks Zordon." Kimberly looked at the group, "Take care of him until I get back.." with that she plugged in her last captive site into the portal and stepped through to Zedd's world.

TBC


End file.
